„Actual space is intrinsically more powerful and specific than paint on a flat surface.“ Donald Judd

Even if her name doesn’t ring an immediate bell – chances are that you have been in one of Selldorf’s spaces – if you have a penchant for arts. As distinctive and edgy today’s globally operating owners of blue chip galleries might be – when it comes to architecture they all seem remarkably in agreement: from Gagosian to Gladstone, Hauser & Wirth or Zwirner – Annabelle Selldorf is their go-to-person for art spaces. Her elegant sophistication sets the perfect quiet backdrop for any work of art - no matter from which era. And ever since she converted the Beaux-Arts-mansion on the corner Fifth Avenue/86th Street congenially into a private museum named „Neue Galerie“ for Ronald Lauder’s collection of German/Austrian -fin de siecle art, she plays in premier league whenever a museum is to be built, renovated or extended.Her colours are usually understated and paired with an immensely refined minimalism – with everything unnecessary being banned – so that eventually the atmosphere seems as if the building was made specifically for the exhibited art. Just recently she won the competition for the extension of New York’s beloved Frick collection. „Another corner stone we are immensely proud of,“ the architect comments. She often uses „we“ instead of „I“, paying tribute to her „wonderful“ team of 65 staff – which is a telling detail how this driven yet charming and soft-spoken lady works.

Her signature uniform is a navy-blue suit which she started wearing when her career took off. „A suit helps to save time in the morning,“ she declares. And her workload is enormous. In the last years Selldorf’s company has completed 16 houses in the Hamptons, as well as five massive luxury residential buildings in New York. She has done a recycling facility in Brooklyn and the showroom with integrated performance hall for piano maker Steinway & Sons in Manhattan. Currently, she is turning railroad warehouses in Arles (South of France) into huge exhibition spaces for the Luma art foundation. Furthermore, she is working on nonprofit school in Zambia and a massive expansion of the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. There is only one downside for being in high demand: „I have to talk so much nowadays that I really miss the quiet, concentrated design process.“

At the beginning of her amazing rise however, stood a rejection: Back home in Germany, her native country, she couldn’t get into architecture school. She of all, the daughter of an established architect in Cologne. Feeling down, she started working for her father first, only to find out that she would rather look for more luck in New York. And the big city and the ambitious young lady from Cologne got along right from the start. „I really appreciated this amazing freedom, all these inspiring people from different countries!“ One can still notice her enthusiasm for her adopted city, even on a Monday morning at 8.00 – shortly after she entered the office at Union Square as one of the first.

In order to study at New York’s prestigious Pratt Institute she cut a deal with her father: He would pay her rent while she would finance her living. She landed a job as an assistant of architect Richard Gluckman – and that was it. Gluckman specialized in minimalistic art spaces that could make the shown work swing. And Annabelle has always had a special relationship with visual arts, counting many artists friends: „Going to galleries was already part of my parent’s lifestyle. Cologne in the 80ies was a truly inspiring place for contemporary German art,“ she recalls.

After her architectural degree at Pratt and a master’s program in Florence, she went back to New York and started her own firm in 1988. Her first projects were „small renovations of a kitchen and bathroom, then a kitchen, bathroom and living room“ – all designed on her dining table in Soho. She was content with little – as long as she was her own boss and could work on her precise signature style: clearly designed, well-proportioned spaces, sensuous materials. Instead of big flashy elements she would always aim at small, meaningful gestures. And her work got around. „I had bad days and good days,“ she straightens out, „but most importantly, I continued and never gave up.“

1990 came a first call from the art world: Michael Werner, a fellow German in New York, asked her to design his gallery on the Upper East Side. The eccentric Werner was the opposite of the proper and well-mannered Annabelle – but the two complemented each other and the timing couldn’t have been better anyway: the art world was just about to become an art market. A fact that inspired her dearest client to date as well: David Zwirner, one of the most important gallery owners worldwide, originally also hailing from Cologne, where his father already owned a gallery. When David asked Annabelle in the early 90ies if she would be able to plan his first gallery in Soho, she was more than happy to agree. 20 years later, when David came up with an idea for „the best gallery in town“ – she took on again: The monumental 30,000 square feet-gallery on 20th Street in Chelsea opened in 2013. It includes not only a significant, 5 storey concrete staircase, but also different exhibition spaces, all cast-in-place concrete – which she made look as soft as velvet. Her inspiration came from le Corbusier’s hillside convent of ‘La Tourette’. „But little did I know what a formidable challenge concrete would pose,“ she said wryly during a talk at Harvard university.

This year will see Zwirner and her working together again on their 20th (!) project, David’s new branch in Hong Kong which is to open in early 2018. Yet not all his commissions were meant for the public, Annabelle took care of his private homes too. For in residential architecture she has an equally well-known expertise.Her trick? She listens because she really wants to know what her client needs – to such an extent that in the end her houses could be seen „as portraits of their owners“ as she puts it. Residences by Selldorf architects should fit like gloves. That’s her standard.

A great example for her unique attention to detail on every level is the most recent Selldorf project on the corner site of 42 Crosby Street in Soho. Having done already five similar projects before, this is by far her most luxurious condominium building, as she proudly states, with the most expansive facade, a porte-cochere, a car-elevator, public sculptures by artist Paula Hayes and a landscaped courtyard. In contrast to Soho’s established iron cast neighborhood, Annabelle chose large stainless windows, higher ceilings and generous open-plan living areas.

The interior is particularly striking as well. Unlike other architects, Annabelle Selldorf has always been interested in providing the full service – architecture plus interior design in order to guarantee a homogenous vision. That’s why some of the furniture comes from Selldorf’s sideline VICA, which produces high class pieces with a timeless appeal. VICA was originally founded by her grandmother – closed in the 70ies and revived by Annabelle ten years ago. Needless to say that these chairs, sofas and tables fit perfectly in 42 Crosby. The result is a touching form of harmony. And that’s exactly what she wants – enhancing the chaotic lives of people. „Architecture is not only what you see, but what it does,“ says Annabelle Selldorf. She seems at ease with herself in this moment.

More on Selldorf’s work can be found inSelldorf Architects: Portfolio and Projects (Phaidon, 2016)